Press Statements

Thursday 9th April 2015

An article published on 21 January 2015 by Lapido Media entitled ‘Islamic charity blames ‘bigots of France’ for Charlie Hebdo massacre written by Dominik Lemanski makes reference to MRDF and one of its former trustees. The article implied misuse of charitable funds by MRDF without any evidence or basis for querying the same. This is a contemptible and serious insinuation, which is vehemently denied. The article also repeats historically incorrect and defamatory statements and uses extracts from those statements without repeating them fully. This means that these extracts do NOT reflect the subject matter of those statements and are presented completely out of context. We wish to make it clear that MRDF are taking appropriate legal action against those guilty of making or repeating these outrageous and defamatory statements. We therefore fully reserve MRDF’s respective positions in respect of this article. MRDF remains at all times committed to its charitable aims and honourable endeavours.

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Wednesday 5th March 2014

The Muslim Research and Development Foundation was setup to help Muslims in the UK better understand their faith in today’s society and also to educate and assist the Muslim community in participating within the wider society in a constructive manner. The overall aim being to portray the correct message of Islam, but also to provide much needed answers to many of the challenges we face in our communities and society.

In working to fulfill these aims, the Foundation organises a number of events that allow for Muslim and Non-Muslims to come together in a peaceful family environment to help establish a real spirit of togetherness and community. One such event that aimed to bring our communities closer was the MRDF Family Funday at the LEGOLAND Windsor on Sunday 9th March 2014. This event was open to people of all faiths and backgrounds, aiming to create an enjoyable, safe and relaxing environment for children and families from all walks of life to have a fun and enjoyable day out. Over 4,000 people had already purchased their tickets for the event with almost 2 weeks remaining.

Unfortunately, during the last few weeks leading up to the event, several right-wing groups including the EDL and Casuals United along with others threatened both the visitors and employees of LEGOLAND in relation to this planned event. They threatened staff at LEGOLAND, staff at MRDF and aimed to disrupt families on the day of the event.

Together with these threats, publication of several articles in the national press helped fuel further hatred and resentment towards the event resulting in further negative impact on the security of the event. It was evident from these hate articles and threats that this was not an attack on MRDF alone but was an outright attack on Islam and Muslims in the UK.

Although we worked hard with LEGOLAND to find a solution to the threats and negative press, LEGOLAND made the decision to cancel the event as they could not guarantee the safety of the attendees and their staff.

We would like to sincerely apologise to all those who purchased tickets and those who worked hard to facilitate the event. God willing we will work harder in the near future to organise and bring about other similar events.

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Friday 14th February 2014

The Family Funday 2014 at Legoland is an opportunity for the UK public to gather with British Muslims in a relaxed family environment. It is open to people from all faiths and cultures in an open and welcoming environment without the promotion of any particular ideology.

The real concern here is the threat to the cohesion of our community by far right groups linked to the EDL and Christian Patrols. We should not be intimidated by violent threats to our way of life. MRDF, a charity governed by English Law, has consistently promoted non-violence and political participation in the UK.

All of our volunteers, staff and trustees are well respected members of the community and have worked in various capacities as promoters of harmony and respect among all communities. We ask everyone to join us at the Family Funday 2014 to witness the marvellous work of our volunteers and staff in helping all communities have a wonderful day out with their family, friends and loved ones.